Our Faculty

More than 150 faculty members work within the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health. They have a wide range of expertise, from monitoring and assessing health risks and opportunities in populations, to helping build health-supporting social environments through policy, advocacy, and programs. They are educators, advisors, researchers, practitioners and community leaders. They come from backgrounds in quantitative, behavioral, environmental and social sciences, policy and government, exercise and health sciences and anthropology, among many other areas. They all work in collaboration with each other and with community partners, and are especially focused on the training and education of future leaders and practitioners in the public health fields.

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Biography

The Applied Practice Experience course will facilitate development and completion of a portfolio that requires students to demonstrate attainment of selected competencies. Students will study portfolio use and development in higher education.

It is recommended that students have completed at least 18 credits of their MPH program to have garnered enough experiences to be used in the portfolio assignment. Students will not be allowed to register for this course during their first term of their MPH program.

This course will begin running in Fall 2019.

Grade mode: Pass / No Pass.

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Biography

Emphasizes the role of community organizing to engage diverse communities to advance the conditions in which people can be healthy. It further examines the role of health educators, grassroots activists, and others in stimulating social, political and economic approaches to promote community health. Also addresses the advancement of theoretical knowledge and practical skills of community organizing.

Biography

An intensive course designed to familiarize students with fundamentals of environmental health from a scientific and conceptual perspective. Topics are considered within multi-causal, ecological, adaptive systems, and risk-assessment frameworks. Includes consideration of biological, chemical, and physical agents in the environment, which influence public health and well-being.

Biography

The Field Experience provides the opportunity to apply the methods learned in the classroom to important public health problems and to develop the ability to synthesize and integrate knowledge. With the assistance of the Field Experience Coordinator, students will select a field experience that is aligned with their interests and goals.

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Biography

This course covers the history of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) framework, the trends that drive and result from DOHAD processes. It will explain epigenetics and other mechanisms which through priming influence lifelong health.

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Biography

This is the first course in a three course sequence designed for MPH Epidemiology and Biostatistics majors. Textbook based; e.g. Gordis Epidemiology. Basic epidemiological principles applicable to infectious and non-infectious diseases, host-agent-environmental relationships, and concepts of disease causation will be reviewed. Students will gain familiarity with epidemiologic measures such as incidence, prevalence, mortality, natality, case fatality, relative risk and other rates and ratios and will use age-adjustment and other standardization techniques. Types and sources of public health data will be reviewed, their use in comparing groups, and statistical significance. Epidemic curves, outbreak investigation principles, surveillance concepts and basic designs of observational studies and sources of bias will be covered.

Students in the MPH Epidemiology and MPH Biostatistics programs should take the on-campus Epi I course.

Doctoral students register for the EPI 612 section.

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Biography

Examines public health effects of industrial and alternative food systems. Designed as an introductory course for students interested in exploring issues at the intersections of public health, equity, and the environment. Key course themes include: food consumption patterns, health inequities, food insecurity and hunger, healthy food environments, food animal production.

Biography

Provides students with an understanding of the field of public health. It provides knowledge about public health principles, concepts, values, tools, and applications. Key topics in the class include the mission of public health, the politics of public health, determinants of health in the United States, major models and strategies for health promotion, and community perspectives on public health interventions.

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Biography

Program evaluation is a field of study and practice that is applicable across areas and disciplines. This course provides students with the theoretical and practical bases for the trans-discipline of program evaluation. The course emphasizes evaluation in the context of global health programs. Students will develop basic skills in a variety of approaches to evaluation, including techniques that are particularly suitable for evaluating global health programs.

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Biography

Introduction to historical and theoretical foundations for social epidemiology; investigates the conceptualization and measurement of different social determinants of health using a lifecourse approach; explores how the “embodiment” of social forces influence disease processes; and examines different actions (i.e., behavioral, clinical, social, legislative and political) used to eliminate health inequities within our local, national and international communities.

Biography

Addresses practical applications of health promotion theories. Presents examples of planning, implementation, and evaluation of health promotion programs in a variety of settings as guides for the development of health promotion programs.

Biography

This course introduces basic concepts and issues in the organization, financing, and delivery of health services. The emphasis is on the systemic aspects of health services production and delivery which address the health needs of populations with respect to death, disease, disability, discomfort, and dissatisfaction. Students will examine the inter-relationships of system structures, subsystems, and processes, as well as their interactions with the larger social, cultural, economic and political environments in which they exist. The focus is on the United States, with international comparisons used to illustrate similarities and differences.

The following sections are offered online: Baker. All other sections are offered in-person.

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Biography

The Integrative Learning Experience (ILE) requires MPH students to synthesize selected competencies from the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). The ILE involves students working with preceptors at organizations outside of the SPH. During the ILE, students will create a substantial written product that is appropriate for each student’s educational and professional objectives as well as complete other required assignments. The ILE occurs toward the end of a student’s program of study.

Biography

The biological and molecular bases of public health: the immune system, genomics, environmental exposures. The evidence-based role of biology in ecological models of population health, its integration in disease prevention and control policies and programs. Effects of behavior on biology. Legal, social, ethical issues will be considered.

Biography

The goal of this course is to cover the broad range of statistical methods used in health sciences. Methods of summarizing data through graphical displays and numerical measures will be discussed. Basic probability concepts will be explored to establish the basis for statistical inference. Confidence intervals and hypothesis testing will be studied with emphasis in applying these methods to relevant situations. Both normal theory and non-parametric approaches will be studied. Course focus will be to understand when to use basic statistical methods how to compute tests to statistics and how to interpret results. Computer applications (using SPSS) are included as part of the course.

Biography

Examine the use and effectiveness of mass media to both report the news about health and to promote changes of action in health-related areas. Students will be required to critique media health messages regarding their objectivity and the extent to which they are comprehensive.

Biography

Provides students with an understanding of the role of media advocacy in advancing public health policies to promote health. The course uses lectures, group exercises, and case studies to illustrate basic concepts and skills related to media advocacy. Topics covered include: gaining access to the news, framing issues from a public health perspective, and the use of paid advertising to advance policy. Content areas include tobacco, violence, handguns, suicide, alcohol, and other public health issues.

Biography

The focus of this course is current men’s health issues. Students have opportunities to critically explore a broad array of men’s health concerns across the life span from a multidisciplinary perspective. Men’s health issues may include such topics as reproductive health, violence, aging, heart disease, depression, and sexuality. The class is taught in an interactive format through group discussion, presentations, and the participation of group speakers. The course focuses on the consideration and critique of current influences on men’s health including the effect of the health care system, male socialization, the impact of the social and cultural factors, and the influence of evolving technology.

Biography

An investigation of the integral relationship between body and mind and how that relationship manifests itself in health, illness, and promotes healing. Philosophical and scientific foundations of mind/body health are explored. Mind/body research and its application within allopathic medicine is examined as is research and practice in complementary fields of medicine and health care.

Biography

Theory and research in the human potential movement is integrated with research in mind/body medicine to produce an expanded understanding of human transformative capacities. Transformative practices including meditation, yoga, imagery, biofeedback, and sport are examined. Elements common to all transformative practices are identified.